The national spotlight will be in Scooba, Miss., Thursday night when No. 2 East Mississippi Community College takes on No. 13 Gulf Coast Community College.

Both schools have a bevy of prospects on their roster and one matchup to keep an eye on will be when EMCC guard Avis Shelton goes nose-to-nose with Gulf Coast defensive tackle James Carmon.

"I'm expecting a great game," Shelton said. "They've got two big defensive linemen down there, a defensive tackle and a defensive end. It's going to be a good game. They are bringing theirs and we are bringing ours. I didn't get to go against (Carmon) last year, this will be my first time. I'm ready to go against him."

At 6-foot-2, 315-pounds, it's not that often that Shelton faces someone larger than him but he will have his work cut out for him with the 6-foot-7, 370-pound four-star standout.

East Mississippi is 3-0 on the season and trails top-ranked Blinn Community College from Texas by six votes. Shelton is pleased with the way things have gone during his sophomore year.

"The season is going pretty good," Shelton said. "We are getting better every week. We were number six the first week and now we've got up to number two. We want to be number one."

Shelton signed with Division II West Alabama coming out of West Point (Miss.) High School as did his high school teammate Quartney Cox. But when Cox had to go the junior college route due to grades, Shelton decided to do the same despite being academically qualified.